The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Typically, an axial piston pump is a positive displacement pump that has a number of pistons in a circular array within a cylinder block. It can be used as a stand-alone pump, a hydraulic motor or an automotive air conditioning compressor. The axial piston pump has a number of pistons arranged in a circular array within a cylinder block which is commonly referred to as a cylinder block, rotor or barrel. This cylinder block is driven to rotate about its axis of symmetry by an integral shaft that is, more or less, aligned with the pumping pistons.
Often, axial piston pumps include a cam, referred to as a swashplate or tilt plate, against which the axial piston ends bear and around which such ends rotate with the angled surface of the swashplate. This allows a cyclic reciprocal movement of the pistons providing each cylinder with low pressure intake and high pressure discharge of hydraulic fluid on each rotation. The oil or hydraulic fluid being pumped from the axial piston pump is generally discharged through a single outlet. This feeds the fluid into oil rails, before entering the injector of the engine.
Generally, billet aluminum is fabricated in a conventional aluminum extrusion operation. In a typical manufacturing process, aluminum stock in the form of large logs, perhaps 5″ to 16″ in diameter and up to 20′ to 24′ in length are fed on a conveyor through an elongated furnace, where they are heated continuously to about 800° to 950° Fahrenheit. After heating, the logs are cut into short lengths called billets, which are fed immediately into an extruder, while the billets are hot. The extruder includes a ram that presses the billets through a die that forms the aluminum into extrusions of a desired shape. The extrusions can then be cut into desired lengths. The billets are cut to specific lengths, depending upon the particular part being extruded.
Other proposals have involved displacing fluids through an axial piston pump at high volumes and pressures. The problem with these axial piston pumps is that they do not provide enough outlets for the discharged fluid. Also, the construction material is not conducive to operate the pump with minimal noise. Self-priming can also be problematic with the prior art axial piston pumps. Even though the above cited axial piston pumps meets some of the needs of the market, a high pressure axial piston pump with two discharge ports angled at a 122° angle away from each other, which is operational with a 7.3 liter power stroke engine or T444E International engine manufactured from 1994 to 2003, and which is fabricated from integral billet aluminum material, is still desired.